I collect quotes. Quotes about writing, about life, quotes from books and movies, quotes from real people. So today I just thought I’d share a few of my favorite quotes. I hope they bring you some inspiration or deep thoughts. And please feel free to share one of your favorite quotes in the comments!

A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from the bristles. – Kosh, Babylon 5

What I find interesting about folklore is the dialogue it gives us with storytellers from centuries past. – Terri Windling

Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage: these are the makers of the afterworld, the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish. – James Allen

Do or do not. There is no try. – Yoda, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood. – Peter Handke

Not all who wander are lost. – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Always remember there are only two kinds of people in this world – the realists and the dreamers. The realists know where they’re going. The dreamers have already been there. – Robert Orben

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. – E.L. Doctorow

A child who can love the oddities of a fantasy book cannot possibly be xenophobic as an adult. What is a different color, a different culture, a different tongue for a child who has already mastered Elvish, respected Puddleglums, or fallen under the spell of dark-skinned Ged, the greatest wizard Earthsea has ever known? –Jane Yolen, Touch Magic

I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I’m afraid of. –Joss Whedon